The Shipbuilder
by Lazebe
Summary: Born in the Fire Nation, Naruto has been around ships and the sea all of his life. With the knowledge and the trade he gained from working under Mr. Hatake for just under a year and the many years before that spent doing odd jobs around the shipyard, he leaves his parents and his home to see the Avatar himself, hoping to somehow be a part of something bigger than himself; NaruAsami
1. Chapter 1

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A man with short, silver white hair and a bandage over one eye looked up at the hull of the Flames of Youth. He frowned at the strange name, but shrugged and elbowed the seventeen year old kid standing next to him.

"Hey, Naruto. Aren't you happy that she's finally finished? We've been working so damn hard these past ten months."

The blond, blue eyed youngster grinned at his lax superior and said, "It sure was a journey, Mr. Hatake! I hope one day that I get to take one of these ships to other parts of the world to see what the people are like there and what kind of ships _they_ build."

"Heh… don't call me mister, kid. It makes me feel old."

Naruto blinked and said, "You aren't?"

The man frowned and said, "Naruto, I'm only ten years older than you."

Naruto nodded. "Oh… that's still pretty old, though."

He laughed and shook his head. "Ah well. Can't be helped, I suppose. You're just young and too gosh-darn polite to call me by anything other than my family name, huh? I may have been your superior during this job, but you showed initiative and a good sense of teamwork, and I respect that. If you respect me also, then you should call me Kakashi, Naruto."

Naruto turned to look at his super and nodded. "Alright, Kakashi, sir."

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, that's a start, I suppose… ah, so what places would you go to if you ever got a chance to get on one of these ships?"

Naruto smiled easily and said, "Republic City, of course!"

He laughed at the young blond's enthusiasm and nodded, saying, "Sure, that's a good place to start. I went there as a kid myself. Me and my dad worked there when I was your age, actually. That's where I learned my trade to be able to work here."

Naruto looked down at his beaten and calloused hands. He smiled. "So these hands of mine already have a taste of what Republic City is like, then, huh?"

Kakashi looked at him in a confused manner until it dawned on him what it was the blond meant. "Oh, well, yeah, I guess so, kid. You learned pretty much all I had to teach you over this past year. Everything I learned in the Avatar's City, you learned here."

Naruto nodded and clenched both of his hands into tight fists as he chuckled and said, "I almost didn't want it to end…"

Kakashi arched a brow. "Oh?"

"Yes… I mean… it was so much fun getting to know everyone… there was always something new to work on and it kept me busy and taught me an important skill since I probably won't ever go to school like other kids."

Kakashi nodded. "You left early, didn't you? I think I remember you telling me that you had to stop going to school to go help your parents out with their fishing and delivery business together with your father's friend."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, Mr. Jiraiya," he said, reminding Kakashi of the old man's name. "My pops got this weird pain in his left arm though that keeps him from being able to do a lot of stuff. Every time he lifts something or moves too fast with it it's like his arm just gives out. He almost killed himself trying to chop some firewood the other day. Ma's tried to take over for him with some help from me, but it hasn't been easy."

"Yeah, it must be rough to be a small time fisherman in a place like this, with all of these ships going out there."

Naruto shook his head, "My dad still knows all of the best spots, so we always get a good haul. Plus, Ma's strong as an ox so it pretty much balances itself out."

Kakashi smirked. "Huh, that so? They ever need a hand, you should tell them to get in touch with me. I'm always looking for extra work when we're off season here at the shipyard."

Naruto's eyebrows raised in surprise. He grinned and said, "Definitely! You work harder than anyone else I know, Kakashi, sir! You'd be a great addition to our crew!"

Kakashi chuckled. "Alright, kid. Head on home now. Your parents will receive your pay in the mail in two weeks. You know how it goes."

Naruto groaned and nodded. "Yeah… I know… doesn't mean I have to like it."

They glanced at one another and both of them shared a laugh as they shook hands and parted ways for the afternoon.

Naruto, three months away from turning eighteen, walked home that night from the shipyard where he worked to the comfy, small-town home owned by his father and his mother.

News of the Avatar's address to the world spread to the far ends of the planet as quickly as messengers could take them. A recording of her voice, telling everyone that they would have to work together in order for both the physical and the spirit world to exist cohesively, was both inspiring and breathtaking. When it played on his radio at his home in the Fire Nation, Naruto knew he couldn't sit idly by while the rest of the world ventured into this fantastic adventure led by the Avatar herself.

He needed to see what was going on with his own two eyes. Not just hear it on some silly little box that tried, ineptly, to describe what was going on in Republic City, the Southern Water Tribe and the rest of the world.

He sat down and spoke to both of his parents later that evening. He told them how he had been saving money for several years now working odd jobs at the shipyard. They knew that this was the first year that he was really hired to do some of the more important work on the ship's hull, foundation and overall structure, but they were surprised to find out just how much he had learned over the course of a couple of years, especially in the last year while under Kakashi's supervision.

He told them he thought he had enough to head over to Republic City and then even a little more left over to bide him some time to find work there, hopefully at another shipyard or somewhere similar. He said he didn't want to leave them, but he felt deep inside that somehow he was meant to be a part of the whole unification of the spirit and the physical worlds. It called to him, he said, the adventure he had dreamed about since he could walk had called to him on the radio that afternoon.

The next morning, they looked upset to see him leave, but his father Minato patted him firmly on the shoulder and said, "That-a-boy. It's about time you went off on your own, son."

Kushina, his mother, smiled solemnly and nodded, saying, "You will write, won't you? Please don't leave me wondering if my little boy is alright out there in the big city."

Naruto smiled. "I will, Ma."

Minato grinned at his kid and rubbed his knuckle into the top of his skull, making his son wince in discomfort. "Bring back a wife, when you come visit."

Kushina glowered at her husband, slightly annoyed that he would even say such a thing. "He's far too young to be thinking about raising his own family, Minato! He's going off on his own now. The last thing he wants to do is get tied down before his journey even starts!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to get tied down."

Kushina frowned and looked at her son. "You are too good-natured, Naruto. You _need_ this trip. It's going to toughen you up since your father was completely useless in that department. But it won't work if you go and lie down with the first city girl you meet out there! Promise me that you won't trust them easily, no matter how pretty or how smart or funny they are."

Minato took this opportunity to roll his eyes as he turned away from his wife, hoping she didn't catch that gesture. When he felt her dig her fist into the muscles of his lower back, he yelped and moved several feet away from her just in case she tried it again.

Naruto grinned at his two loveable oafs for parents and nodded. "I promise I'll be wary of girls, especially the pretty ones."

Kushina smiled at her son and kissed him on the forehead, saying, "_Good_. Your momma should be the most important girl in your life, you little brat."

He chuckled and kissed his mother on the cheek, then stood up and started walking out the door. He stopped and turned around to say, "My last check's coming in the mail. I had them make it out to you guys so you can go ahead and cash it in. It's everything I made for the past three months. Hopefully it helps a bit since I'm gone… also, make sure you check up on mister Hatake like I told you. He said he was interested in working out on deck with you and mister Jiraiya… I love you mom… dad." He stepped past the threshold not knowing that it would be years before he returned. He thought his adventure lay in the journey to see the Avatar, not realizing that when he made the choice to leave that evening, he altered his destiny more than he could ever realize.

Minato and Kushina smiled at their son and stood up to see him out. They knew where he was going. They heard the Avatar's statement on the radio. They also heard that the large vessel that he and hundreds of others had been working on for months, the _Flames of Youth_, would be making its maiden voyage later on that afternoon to none other than Republic City.

_=A T G C=_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Naruto or Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Those rights go to their respectful owners, and this is just purely for fun and not-for-profit._

_Author's Note: Hello everyone. I took a break from writing Winds to work out this story idea I had for another crossover fic. This, I will let you know now, is going to be a NarutoxAsami fanfic. Yes, I know, right? I've been asked several times to write one, and so I thought this might be a good way to introduce the two characters together. The "A T G C" combination at the top is not spam. It's code. That's my hint. If you need help, check my profile for more info on it. I'm going to focus this story on the idea of genetics and what it really means to pass the bending "gene" down from person to person._

_I have a lot of research to do for this story (I'm not sure how long it takes after a ship is built before they start offering tickets, for instance, maybe they do it beforehand?), but it's going to have to wait until after my classes are done. I hope you enjoyed, and if you did please let me know. I may not continue this right away depending on the amount of interest there is in it. If I do, I may rework this chapter and I will let you know in the second or subsequent chapters what I've changed or what I've added to enhance the story :)_

_Thank you for all of the people who have already followed me through my other stories or from my art, and I hope you all do well in your school in these last couple of weeks (months?) you might have._


	2. Chapter 2

TCU EB TFAC NI NCA SU SBIND HWHIC EFAT FO DTHREA TTHA

"I'm glad that you decided to visit me here in the Fire Nation. I hope it wasn't too far out of your way, Miss Sato."

Asami Sato, the owner of Future Industries, shook her head with a smile on her face as she walked alongside none other than Zuko's grandson, General Iroh. She flew over from Republic City in a new biplane model that Iroh was interested in investing in and had spent the better part of the day speaking with him about a whole slew of topics aside from her work.

"Not at all, General. I couldn't pass up on this opportunity you've given me to produce a new line of faster, more lightweight biplanes for the military. I'm very grateful that you invited me here to your home so that we could better discuss our contract together."

Iroh nodded and said, "I thought it would be a good idea for us to speak in person. I realize that many business transactions are held over the phone, but that just seemed too impersonal for me. I appreciate you humoring my old-fashioned way of working."

Asami giggled. "A little old-fashioned isn't a bad thing. Thank you for lunch, also, by the way. It was spectacular."

"Ah, when you said that you only eat fish I knew I had to have you try our Bluefin Eel-Tuna sushi. We have some of the best fishermen in the world here on the mainland and access to the freshest fish since most of the world's import originates from here."

Asami nodded. She knew about the Fire Nation's lucrative commodity. Even the Southern and the Northern Water Tribes purchased imported goods from the Fire Nation due to the fact that there simply weren't enough Bluefin Eel's in either tribe's freezing waters, though that was just one of the many expensive and sought-after fish that came from the cozy waters that surrounded the islands.

"Admittedly," Asami said apprehensively, "though I enjoyed the meal and it definitely was one of the most exquisite sushi I've had, I have heard that overfishing has drastically affected the Bluefin Eel's population. Aren't there any safeguards in place to preserve the species from being fished out completely?"

Iroh blinked and shook his head. "Honestly, I'm not quite sure. Where did you hear that, anyways? I have heard that they were making a comeback."

Asami arched a brow and shrugged, saying "Maybe it was an outdated article, but I subscribe to a newsprint scientific journal. It's organized by a scientist who is living here right now, but the journal originated in the Earth Kingdom and was started by a man named Orochimaru. Apparently, one of his writers named Kabuto Yakushi is here in the Fire Nation investigating the problem of overfishing in the Fire Nation's waters."

Iroh scoffed. "I'm sure the Fire Nation is hardly the only place that has a problem with population preservation. And besides, they're just fish. There's always going to be more."

Asami frowned, but nodded and just continued walking.

Iroh noticed the look on her face and decided to move along the conversation to avoid the topic. "Anyways, I was hoping that you'd be able to stay a while longer. Are you sure you have to leave tomorrow?"

She nodded, putting a smile on her face as she said, "Yeah, I can't help it. If I want to make it back right away then my best bet is to take the ship that's leaving tomorrow. I think you said it was called the Flames of Youth?"

Iroh nodded. "That's right. It was finished only a few weeks ago and they've been running tests and checking to make sure everything is in order before shipping off to Republic City. You're lucky, actually, because it's the only ship that's going to leave for another three weeks. Unfortunately, my next stop is taking me to the Northern Water Tribe in two weeks and then I have to make the long trip all of the way to the Southern Water Tribe immediately after, so I wouldn't be able to take you then either."

"Right. And if you need to keep the biplane to pitch it to the people in your military then my only other option is to hire a fishing boat to take me to the mainland, but that's a ten day trip by boat."

"Then I suppose you have no other choice."

She shook her head.

"Well," he said with a smile, "Perhaps after my trip to the two poles I can take some time to visit you in Republic City? I was hoping we'd get to know each other more… aside from work."

Asami smiled. "I have a busy schedule, but I'm sure I can make some time for a friend."

Iroh nodded, "Excellent! Now, how about we go over those new biplane features once more before you head back to your hotel?" When she nodded, the two of them made their way back to the hangar after their little discussion. There was a bit of teasing and some mild flirting between the two of them, but Asami stayed focused to the task at hand of explaining to him once again the many features of the new biplane fighter model.

When they were done, she left with a goodbye and made her way over to the hotel. She spent the night there and woke up early the next morning to take her first-class trip on the Flames of Youth, which would be leaving sometime before noon.

Meanwhile, Naruto was busy walking around the deck of the ship, admiring the craftsmanship, love, pain, sweat and blood that went into creating this massive vessel. He was proud to say that he had a hand in making it, but it's not like he could just run up and tell everyone that he built the damn thing. About anywhere from eight-hundred to one thousand five hundred people were working on the ship, off and on, for the past ten months. It took a little longer than usual because some of the innovative kinks that made this ship special took longer to work out. Naruto himself worked on many things, including some of the more basic parts like buffing and cleaning. His least favorite job was hammering out the outline of each of the pieces of the hull with a mallet and a steel spike because of how his arms felt after hours of chiseling away a guideline for the steel-cutters to follow later. He preferred working with the heated metal even though it could be dangerous if the people he worked with didn't do it the way they were supposed to, and also it was a race against time to bend the iron and steel into the proper shapes as they quickly cooled down. Messing up was not an option, and he always felt tense and full of adrenalin afterwards, especially when they barely managed to make the right adjustments in time when the steel suddenly cooled past the point of being able to make any further adjustments.

He heard that reheating the girders to make adjustments after the initial heating process could compromise the integrity of the ship, so once he got the hang of it he always made sure to work as fast and as accurate as possible when it came to that job.

Another job he had was installation of many of the pipes that were used for the running water onboard. He didn't spend much time doing that, but one of his least fondest memories was climbing up down inside of the hull to make an adjustment to a pipe that had not been fastened correctly early on, with no catwalk to help him get there because the one they had used was a mobile one that was being used elsewhere at the time. He didn't like being so high up when there was nothing but hard iron floors twenty feet below him.

What he learned from Kakashi was more focused around maintaining the integrity of the hull and ensuring that all of the inner-workings of the ship were in order. He spent several weeks under Kakashi's tutelage just learning about how the ship stays afloat in water. He was one of the many engineers in the shipyard and he spent a lot of time explaining various methods of making sure that the ship stays afloat in water such as displacement and choosing lightweight, sturdy materials. Kakashi's job, overall, was to make sure that there were no weak-spots anywhere in the ship's hull, and so he taught Naruto what to look out for and who to check up on when talking about integrity of the ship.

Naruto learned that everything, down to where supplies were kept and which types of bolts and nails used to build the ship, affected whether or not the ship stayed afloat. Too heavy, and the ship sank. Too lightweight, and the ship would be unstable and could sink. If any of the boat's ribs were angled at the wrong degree, the ship was more susceptible to leakage and the hull could collapse due to its own weight.

The main principle he learned was that the upward "buoyant force" that is exerted on a body immersed in some type of fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces, meaning that a lump of metal might sink to the bottom of the ocean if it's just a crushed into a big ball, but if it's flattened and stretched out enough so that most of its weight is balanced by that upward force of buoyancy in the water, then it should stay afloat.

Of course, he was still learning. He had a long ways to go before he was certifiable expert on shipbuilding, but he hoped that he'd be able to pick up where he left off with Kakashi once he arrived in Republic City.

Naruto also had an interest in navigating, something which was fostered by his father's friend and business partner, Jiraiya, on their many trips to different spots around the islands as they fished for some of the cheaper, but more abundant variations of eel tuna rather than focusing on what all of the big-time companies were scouring the islands for.

The son of a fisherman, he knew all-too-well the problems that were caused by overfishing by commercial ships and even the local fishermen, but he wasn't sure it was something that he could do something about. It was scary to think that the demand of a single fish, coupled with people's ambitions to make money would cause an animal to go extinct, but it was a real possibility.

He was busy thinking over this subject when he bumped rather harshly into someone. Turning to say he was sorry, Naruto froze in place to look over the young woman who stood before him.

Her hair was black like the coal he used to shovel into the furnaces that were used to heat the steel girders which they carved the ship's bones out of. The pupils in her yellow-green eyes dilated as she stared at him with a look of disbelief written all over her face. She batted long eyelashes as she stared at him in an almost reluctant manner, her legs taking her a few steps back and away from him as they faced one another after nearly knocking each other over. When she knelt down and started picking up papers he hadn't noticed she dropped, Naruto immediately snapped out of his spell and moved to help her.

"I'm sorry, miss. I should have been paying more attention." He seemed to remember a clipboard flying out of her hands and bouncing off a few feet away, so he looked around until he found it, and then went to retrieve it for her after picking up several of the sheets that were tumbling around on deck. He brought them back to her and handed them over as she spoke.

"Forget it," she muttered, obviously annoyed with him for having run into her like that. She gasped when she saw one particular sheet fly off further up the deck. "Don't let any of these get away! They're part of an important contract that I have with the general!"

Naruto nodded and moved as quickly as he could to scoop up the few pieces of paper that were tumbling about ahead of him. As he ran, he ducked under two people carrying a large chest as they turned out of one of the upper level storage rooms as the paper flew past them, then hopped over the railing of the elevated area he was standing on to follow the piece of paper as it flew down towards the bow of the ship. When he arrived, he thought the paper had flown overboard, but luckily it had caught on the railing at the end of the bow. Shocked beyond belief, Naruto reached for it and grasped for the sheet of paper. Once he held it in his hand, he turned around and was surprised by another sheet that slapped him right in the face before flying over the edge of the ship, swirling about in the wind.

He missed one? Naruto frowned in annoyance and stared at the piece of paper as it flew further and further away. Reaching out, Naruto clenched his fist around it as it began to fade away into the distance and shook his head as he turned away to walk back in shame to meet up with the pretty girl he inconvenienced. As he turned, however, a gust of wind brushed past him and a moment later he was smacked in the back of the head by the paper that seemed to float off into oblivion just a second ago. Reaching desperately behind his head, Naruto jumped for joy when he held both sheets in his hands…

… only to accidentally rip them in his over excited state.

"Shoot," he said, holding the two pieces of paper that were torn in half in his hands.

When he looked up at the upper deck, Naruto saw the annoyed look on her face as she looked over the railing. Busted. He frowned and looked back at the pieces of paper as she turned to walk down the steps toward the bow to retrieve her papers.

"Sorry, I…"

"Are you always this clumsy?" she asked, slightly red in the face as she snatched the papers away from him to interrupt him. "You know how important these documents are? How hard I had to work to draft them and now I'm going to have to reorganize every single one of these papers to make sure that the contract is in the right order so that I can work on them again, not to mention replace the two sheets that you so carelessly ripped to shreds? No, of course you don't… you're just a… just a…"

"Shipbuilder…" Naruto offered.

"Shipbuilder… wait, shipbuilder?" asked the beautiful young woman. She really was something else; even when she was angry and upset with him, she was quite pretty.

He nodded. "I worked on this ship, actually. Ten months." He smiled and showed her his hands.

She looked at him, confused at first until she saw his rough, slightly scarred and calloused hands. Her eyes widened slightly because she thought he was nothing more than a kid who was visiting the Fire Nation or leaving to visit Republic City, possibly a student. He had the childish-looking face that did not entirely match up with the strong-looking arms, callous hands and slim, compact body of his.

His large grin didn't hide the embarrassment he seemed to feel over his clumsy act just a second ago. Although, she had to admit that the way he moved was not clumsy at all. She recalled watching him sprint and quickly slide under those two men who were transporting some sort of chest or case out of a storage closet on the upper deck and even remembered gasping when she saw him bound over the railing without hesitation.

Perhaps she was a little too hard on him at first. It wasn't until now that Asami noticed that his eyes were the color of the sea and his hair was bright yellow like the sun. He was tan, but not bronzed. It was definitely a fisherman's glow.

"Your hands are so… _ugly…" _she whispered _ugly_ like his hands were going to hear her. To her surprise, his smile seemed to get a bit bigger as he spoke.

"I'm proud of my hands. They're the reason why I'm so good at what I do. They're the reason why I'm going to Republic City: to finish learning my trade that originated there."

Asami arched a brow, "I'm pretty sure the Fire Nation has been building ships long before the United Republic of Nations was even a thing. If anything, your trade probably started somewhere here in the Fire Nation… it makes sense since this is an island and they'd have to learn how to make ships to leave the island to search for new land and trading opportunities."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Huh! I never thought about it like that. So Mr. Kakashi learned something in Republic City that was learned from here, huh? That's pretty amazing, Miss!"

Asami shook her head, "It's common sense."

"Oh, OK. I'll definitely try and remember that once I get to the city… ah, sorry about your papers again, Miss. I didn't mean to mess things up for you. I had no idea those were so important." He frowned, looking quite down with himself for going overboard and tearing up the paperwork that was so important to her.

Asami sighed. "It's fine… It shouldn't be too hard to replace these papers and this is my copy anyways. I'll just tape them back together for now… thank you for trying so hard to get them for me, uh… ahem… let me introduce myself: my name is Asami Sato and I build and design many things, including biplanes, which is what this contract is about. And you are?" She couldn't help but blush at how she was stumbling with her words a bit. Why was she so nervous?

Naruto's eyes visibly widened and he reached out to offer to shake her hand. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm a shipbuilder and a fisherman. I've lived in the Fire Nation for all of my life and I am going to Republic City to learn new things and also I'd like to see the Avatar one day."

Asami's eyelids opened up just a bit as she thought about her friend, Korra. She wasn't about to blurt out that she was good friends with the Avatar, just in case this guy was a creep or something, but she offered a smile and reached out to shake his hand after ensuring that all of her papers were held firmly in place by her clipboard. "It's uh… nice to meet you… wow, your hands really are rough."

Naruto grinned and shrugged. "Comes with the territory, I'm sure. It's amazing that you make biplanes and yet yours are still so soft. It must be a whole different kind of work to make planes than it is to make ships."

Asami thought about that for a second. Perhaps it was… and perhaps it wasn't. She wasn't sure. "I'm not so sure," she said, shrugging, "But I love what I do… say, I really would like to apologize for being so flippant earlier. Maybe we could uh… talk more over a drink? I have some drinks in my cabin." Her face was red. She just _knew _it.

"Ah… uh… I don't want to inconvenience you anymore than I already have…" he started, looking around to try and avoid her gaze as he felt his cheeks warm up.

"Nonsense. I think it would be interesting for us to talk together for a bit… I've always believed that things happen for a reason anyways. Maybe it was fate that had us meet here today on this ship." She smiled and started walking back up the steps away from the bow. When she noticed he was just standing there, she asked, "Are you coming?"

Naruto looked up and saw her beautiful green eyes gazing down into his as her charcoal hair was swept up into the wind as she stood there on the steps. He nodded in affirmative and quickly moved to follow beside her.

"So what kind of drinks do you have? Like… apple juice or something?"

Asami chuckled. "You're too funny."

Naruto wasn't sure why he was funny, but he shrugged and just kept on going, following the pretty young girl to his doom, if need be.

**Author: **I've decided to keep this story short and sweet by updating with much shorter chapters than I usually write. I think that'll keep me on track with it and make it easier for me to post more scenes for you guys to read.

First off, before you ask, there probably will not be a lemon. I may write one later, but if I do, I will not include it here on FFnet and you'll have to go to my tumblr page to read it once I write it. The reason being is I'd rather keep this story rated T, here.

Thanks to those of you who reviewed. I received one review that just made me roll my eyes. They used the dna-o-gram to call me a bitch or something or other (on a guest account, because they have no huevos), which was pretty funny for a few seconds and a good idea for a review, but just used in such a boring way. I swear, I thought that level of immaturity was only possible on xbox live, but surprise, surprise.

Also, the "code" at the top is very easy. No website you have to go to. Just have to figure it out. Try moving around the letters.

As the chapters continue, I'll make the codes more and more difficult with less and less hints :) Anyways, it's just a line of text I thought up that sort of goes with this story. If you are having trouble figuring it out, don't worry, I'll have the answer to that code on the next chapter.

Last chapter's code said (if you didn't bother looking it up or couldn't figure it out or something): _Awaken that which lies dormant in the soul. Rise and grant the young boy the power to influence the world._


	3. Chapter 3

When time and but became one long

Our did the you a that after

Eyes not world and melody will we

First stand kept I, that forever are

Met still spinning we day play gone

=The Shipbuilder=

Naruto obediently followed his doom up into the upper class cabins. He remembered watching some of the other workers construct these areas, but he wasn't very skilled with crafting the foundations for living quarters inside of the ship and hadn't had much time to learn this particular craft. It was still interesting to see the masters at work, so he often spent time watching them working on different parts of the ship. At least it allowed him to understand the general layout of this particular area. Asami obviously belonged to a higher echelon, socially and monetarily than he. Naruto's occupation just didn't lend him the funds to spend on things like high-class tickets on a ship's voyage. Certainly not if he wanted to survive when he arrived in the Avatar's City.

"Oh, look over there!" she said suddenly, stopping in her tracks and nearly making them bump into one another again. Luckily, Naruto caught himself and turned to look in the direction she was currently pointing.

"What is it?" he asked, confused at what he was looking at. They seemed to be setting up some sort of stage for an event on board. Naruto followed Asami as she stepped toward a large, hand-crafted sign which read:

_Join us tonight for an exquisite Bluefin Eel dinner _

_And special performance by the famous international theatre troupe:_

_~ The Melody of the Mist ~_

_Dinner: 7:30 pm_

_Theatre: 8 pm with intermission at 9:30_

_Limited seating, ticket sales end at 6:30 pm_

_Bill charged to your cabin_

"Huh, didn't know they had this kind of stuff on ships." Naruto commented, reaching back and scratching his head as he looked around the colossal room. It was amazing what people with money were able to enjoy. "I wonder how much they charge for this sort of thing."

Asami, meanwhile, had apparently not heard him at all. She was currently fawning over the pretty set up of the stage and the round tables that were used to seat them onboard the ship. Incredibly, there was even a few balcony seats. Naruto had worked on this ship, she remembered, so she was surprised to hear that he wasn't aware there was going to be such a large auditorium onboard. She knew that the Fire Nation, especially its prideful shipbuilders, often produced rather extravagant work with more amenities than even some grand hotels in the city. The Flames of Youth was also a gambling ship, something that she had noted in the flyer that she received earlier when she turned in her ticket and came onboard.

"Maybe we can find out? Have you been to the theatre much?" she asked, quite certain that he had never been.

Naruto chuckled warmly and shook his head. His blue eyes gazed out onto the stage as he said, "No, no… I have only seen one show, but it was at my cousin's school. They set up a play about Avatar Aang and someone called Koh, but it was really just a bunch of kids running around with masks on… My cousin, his name is Konohamaru, wore this little centipede costume and had a funny looking white mask on while he danced."

Asami let out an adorable '_awwww' _and a smile appeared on her face as her brows twitched briefly as an idea came to mind.

Naruto was still admiring the stage while Asami formulated her plan behind his back. She watched him carefully and noted his attire, seeing that what he was wearing was incredibly well-worn. She mused that she hadn't even really given him a good once-over since meeting the oaf. Her eyes glanced at the back of his head, spying how bright, yellow, and surprisingly well-kept his hair was considering the state of his clothing. She slowly walked around him while he was curiously gazing in the direction of a few stagehands who were setting up props in the background and making a few minor adjustments before finally pulling the curtains closed.

The dark grey jacket that he wore was patched up on the back and looked like it was possibly a hand-me-down from his father or someone close to him. As Asami stood beside him, she sneaked a peek at his front and noted that he was wearing an old, but clean long-sleeved white shirt underneath that was rolled up to his elbows, where he had an orange bandana tied to the sleeve of his short-sleeved jacket with a serious-looking pair of safety goggles clipped onto it. They appeared to be welder's goggles, but she wasn't quite sure. It seemed like a safe bet, considering his occupation.

"Say, Naruto," She said after taking an eyeful of his derriere and clearing her throat.

"Huh?" he asked, his eyes still glued to the stage. Something about it made his spine shiver and his hair stand on end. He wasn't sure what it was about the stage, but he knew that one day he had to see a real play for himself. See something classic, like the Air Nomad's Pilgrimage, a story that he read and heard about as a kid while he was still in school.

"How about we see the play?" Asami steeled herself and turned on the charm as she slowly finished walking around him to stand before him and slowly turn away to look toward the stage. "I love theatre, and I would really like the company. I mean, you don't have somewhere to be, do you?" She turned her upper body, looking at him with anticipation in her eyes as she gazed over her shoulder.

Naruto, meanwhile, thought his heart had dropped down into his stomach. Here he was, wondering when the day would come that he would be able to see his first real play when suddenly the answer is right before his eyes, in a very fashionable package.

However, Naruto quickly rejected the idea. There was no way he could take advantage of this nice girl's generosity like that. Whether she was loaded or not didn't matter to him. He couldn't pay, therefore he couldn't go.

"I really appreciate the offer, Miss Sato, but I simply don't have the money to pay for this sort of thing." He saw her eyes widen and noticed her take a breath, but he held up his hand and said, "And before you say anything else, I can't accept your money either… I won't take advantage of someone who just ten minutes ago I inconvenienced, so. I will just have to watch this play some other time when I have the money."

Asami flinched. Drat. She wasn't expecting a rejection after all of that fluttering of the eyes and tossing of the hair she was doing after having asked him to join her. She even tucked her hair behind her ear, for Wan's sake!

He smiled at her and added, "Perhaps you should go and get ready so that you can see the play your-" But he was quickly and rudely interrupted by an annoyed huff coming from the woman in front of him.

Asami stepped forward and looked him dead in the eye, making him rather nervous as their lips were a little too close for comfort. The look on her face was not the one of a girl seeking a kiss, however, so he just stood there dumbly, trying not to move for fear that her anger would be provoked.

"Inconvenienced? You're damn right you're inconveniencing me. You are the one who bumped into me, and then you tore my papers and now you're trying to excuse yourself from spending a little bit of your time to speak with me?" Asami shook her head in annoyance and said, "You know what? You don't have a choice. You owe me for tearing up my paperwork."

"Wait, but how does us watching a play together make up for-"

"Naruto Uzumaki," she said harshly, glaring.

Naruto flinched. What a familiar tone… it was like he was getting scolded by his mother for taking the boat on a joyride with his friends-something which he only did maybe a handful of times, mind you.

"Y-yes, Miss Sato?"

Asami arched a brow and stood straight, resting one hand on her hip as her intense stare softened quite a bit as she let him stew in the silence for a moment. Once she was sure he was sweating, she asked, "Is that what you really want? To make it up to me for _inconveniencing_ me earlier?"

Naruto nodded. Somehow he had this feeling that he was being swindled somehow… like he just lost some kind of game and he wasn't quite sure he was playing in the first place.

"Then kill that pride of yours and come have dinner with me tonight, at my expense, and keep me company." As she finished speaking, whether she knew it or not, what really bought him over was that amused expression on her face like she couldn't believe he was even questioning the idea of free food and entertainment _and _the company of a beautiful young woman like her for the evening. Even _she_ had to admit that he was a pretty damn lucky guy to have bumped into her the way he did and to not have been completely blown off by her as soon as she had her clipboard and papers back. This unassuming guy had the luck of a demon, she mused.

Naruto stared at the bewitching woman standing in front of him. Her words really struck home. _Kill your pride_. Was he prideful? He must be, if he wasn't willing to accept such an offer. Something told him that he wanted to befriend this woman. She seemed intelligent, seeing as she easily outwitted him, and she was definitely beautiful. Actually, beautiful was just so overused… she was… the epitome of indulgence.

Naruto swallowed, biting his lip as he looked out onto the stage once more.

The theatre… well, that's all there is to it, then.

"Alright, Asami. If you'll have me, I'd be more than glad to join you tonight. Thank you." He bowed his head, as was customary of someone from his region of the Fire Nation. He was absolutely astounded by her grace, and was enthralled by the idea of accompanying her to dinner and the play. It reminded him of a dinner date, like one he had a long time ago with a girl with pretty pink hair, but a nasty attitude.

Wondering how this would turn out, Naruto couldn't help but smile when he saw Asami give him the prettiest show of crimson and white he had ever seen in a fantastic smile that he now had stored away under lock and key in an exhibit somewhere in his memory.

=End Chapter=

Thank you for reading. Sorry this is so short, but I have to do stuff later today so I have to go to sleep already, lol.

I know that I have been slow updating (Winds is really kicking my ass right now), but if you follow me on deviantArt or tumblr, then you might know that I've been drawing quite a bit. I am spending a lot of time on my artwork, but I've also been busy helping out my Aunt's church lately so I haven't had a lot of time to myself just to write. My birthday's today (as of midnight, it's 2 am over here right now)! :P Shameless, I know, so leave me a nice review or follow me on deviantArt, tumblr or Instagram and give me a lot of likes. lol

Btw, yes, that is a puzzle at the top of the chapter. Not sure you need a hint, really…

Here's the answer to last chapter's little word-switchy thingy:

_That thread of fate which binds us can in fact be cut._


End file.
